Student suspended for handstands, cartwheels

CNN ^ | Nov 11th, 2004

[mark502inf]

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Cartwheels and handstands have gotten an 11-year-old girl temporarily bounced out of her Los Angeles-area school.

Deirdre Faegre was suspended for a week after repeatedly disobeying school officials who told her not to perform gymnastic stunts during lunchtime.

"Our first concern is the safety of all children," San Jose-Edison Academy Principal Denise Patton told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

Patton said Deirdre could accidentally strike another student, or injure herself, and other children could get hurt trying to imitate Deirdre, who has been doing gymnastics for five years.

[mark502inf]

Its one week suspension for carwheels, two weeks for playing dodgeball, and the whole semester for reading the Bible.

[holymoly]

Anal-retentive morons who won't let kids be kids alert.

[Angry Enough]

Home school,home school, home school!

[gaijin]

Good thing she didn't have a nail-clipper keychain! This one sounds like a real loose cannon!

[gaijin]

Pattycake = dangerous slapping ritual?

[austinaero]

Wonder if this is one of those schools who don't allow recess anymore? Everyone's worried about cupcakes in class and childhood obesity, yet we pen our kids up in schools 6+ hours a day with what, a 15-20 min break..?

[bannie]

Aw, comeon y'all...you know that if the girl fell, we'd be paying her parents $$$$$MMMMM.

[mark502inf]

My favorite part is the dad's response at the end of the story:

"Contact sports, apparently, are fine. But this one is so dangerous it requires the cartwheel cops,"

[xJones]

eirdre Faegre was suspended for a week after repeatedly disobeying school officials who told her not to perform gymnastic stunts during lunchtime.

This isn't clear. Was the girl doing backflips between lunchroom tables? She was performing during lunch instead of eating?

[Peace will be here soon]

"Deirdre Faegre was suspended for a week after repeatedly disobeying school officials who told her not to perform gymnastic stunts during lunchtime."

Hopefully not on the lunch tables !! Nowadays, you never know.

[GnuHere]

Good gravy. As someone who could never do a cartwheel, I can see that this would damage other children's self-esteem, therefore it should be forbidden. Just like a good debater should not be allowed to speak during free class time 'cause that also is an unfair advantage.

PC crap like this will be the ruination of us all...

[Texas_Jarhead]

"Deirdre Faegre was suspended for a week after repeatedly disobeying school officials who told her not to perform gymnastic stunts during lunchtime."

That's why she was suspended. Maybe folks around here will cry foul but she was apparently told to stop "repeatedly". It doesn't seem like an unreasonable request. Actions have consequences. Perhaps the punishment is too harsh, perhaps not. Then there's the father's response, "Deirdre's father, Leland Faegre, said it was absurd to suspend his daughter for doing gymnastics when students were allowed to play basketball and other sports. "Contact sports, apparently, are fine. But this one is so dangerous it requires the cartwheel cops," Faegre said."

Now I don't know about you folks but my father would have taken me to the wood shed for doing something that I was told "repeatedly" not to do in school. But hey I just a hick from Texas. The father's argument misses the point completely.

[JasonC]

The school officials are prancing ninnies and should be ashamed of themselves.

[CindyDawg]

The concerns could have be discussed between her and her parents and the staff.. The problem I see is disobedience. She was told to stop and continued.

[eccentric]

As we came to a corner while driving, I asked my kids, "How many stop signs are there?"

"one"

"It should only take ONE 'stop,' to get you to stop. You shouldn't have to be told repeatedly to stop what you are doing."

[Rhetorical pi2]

We must make an example of Diedre. You will note that she is performing "individual" activities.

This must be stopped!

Children cannot be allowed to develop individual skills! They must blend in with the masses, and march lockstep with everyone else in class.

If you allow a child to turn cartwheels alone, next thing you know she will be thinking individual thoughts - on her own - and that is verboten!!

[Texas_Jarhead]

I like that.

[TChris]

Oh for Pete's sake. Are there any sane voters left in the People's Republic of Kalifornia? How do brainless, reactionary doofs like this get jobs at schools? ...then again, if I got my a$$ sued every time I sneezed, I might become a bit reactionary myself.

[DYngbld]

Now one more reason to continue Home Schooling. The list is endless.

[GeronL]

told her not to perform gymnastic stunts during lunchtime

LOL.